Following the denial of three penalty appeals, Nottingham Forest accused Stuart Attwell, the match’s VAR, of being a Luton Town supporter. Forest is now requesting that the VAR audio from the match be made publicly available. Forest lost 2-0 against Everton on Sunday.
Nottingham Forest has officially requested the PGMOL to make the VAR audio from their Sunday’s loss to Everton available to the public.
During their 2-0 loss, Forest had three different penalty appeals rejected by match referee Anthony Taylor; Stuart Attwell, the VAR, upheld the on-field rulings.
Attwell was subsequently accused of being a Luton supporter by the relegation-threatened team, who claimed to have “warned” the PGMOL about the matter before to the game and that they would “consider its options”.
In a statement released on Monday, Nottingham Forest stated: “Today, Nottingham Forest formally requested the PGMOL to make the audio recordings between officials from yesterday’s Goodison Park match against Everton available to the public.”
Ashley Young’s challenge on Giovanni Reyna in the 24th minute, Ashley Young’s handball in the 44th minute, and Ashley Young’s challenge on Callum Hudson-Odoi in the 56th minute are the three significant match occurrences for which the club has asked that this be shared.
We adamantly support complete openness and the integrity of our sport by granting the audio and transcript to the larger football community and supporters.”
The FA reacted by issuing a brief statement of their own.
“In response to Nottingham Forest, Nuno Espirito Santo, Neco Williams, and Mark Clattenburg’s remarks made after their Sunday, April 21, Premier League encounter against Everton, we have formally requested observations from them. Any more information will be released when it’s appropriate.”
Clattenburg, a former Premier League referee who now consults for Forest, was present at Goodison Park for the game. His Daily Mail story on Sunday night mentioned the team’s post-match statement, although it did not go so far as to criticise it.
Instead, Clattenburg repeated Forest’s claim that “a Luton fan such as Attwell” shouldn’t have been involved in the game, called the penalty rulings “a joke,” and slammed the PGMOL for selecting Attwell as VAR.
“One of these errors would have been bad enough,” he stated. “Three was a joke, which is why Nottingham Forest felt like victims following yet another loss in which none of their crucial decisions turned out as planned.
“It was a trio of indiscretions from the officiating staff and, regrettably for Forest, an extension of an unfair pattern that has hindered their struggle for survival.
“As you have seen from the club’s statement, the PGMOL was notified that Attwell, a supporter of Luton, should not have been playing such a crucial part in a match that may decide the outcome of the relegation struggle.
If I were in charge of the referees, I would not have taken this chance, and all of this might have been prevented if the PGMOL had just made wiser appointments. Although referees don’t intentionally make mistakes, it was astonishing to observe this. Only he will know why Attwell chose not to send Taylor to his screen.”
“The FA must take strong action against Forest and put an end to this. There have been incidents involving Arsenal at Newcastle and Liverpool at Tottenham. It seems as though it is constructing at Forest and Clattenburg. It resembles a strategy to exert some sort of pressure on officials. In the stands, we noticed Clattenburg.
“Though Anthony Taylor and Stuart Attwell may be having a rough day, this behaviour needs to be stopped by requesting an apology and considering all of the possibilities. There aren’t any choices. A severe penalty must be imposed on Forest.”
Dean: Forest out of order – Premier League has nothing to hide
Mike Dean, a former Premier League official, on Sky Sports News:
“Clubs occasionally look at the schedule and wonder why the referees are officiating a certain game, but I didn’t notice any complaints from Nottingham Forest on February 24, when Stuart was officiating both their home game against Liverpool and their away game at Aston Villa.
“Back then, wasn’t there a question? Why not then make a statement claiming that he is a supporter of Luton? They never complained or questioned the appointment.
“It’s completely out of order; Stuart is one of our most trustworthy referees. After being booted from the Premier League, he returned even more formidable.
He’s among the top VARs in the world, as well as one of ours. He frequently attends World Cup seminars, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he was present at the Euros this summer in addition to likely participating at the World Cup. Both FIFA and UEFA hold him in the highest regard. It was utterly out of sequence.
Requests for VAR audio have always been accepted by clubs. While some are resentful and do ask for it, others don’t want to since they believe that what has been done is enough. The Premier League doesn’t have anything to conceal and has always made it available to anyone who desire it.
“What I would suggest is that Howard Webb will likely discuss those three decisions on the upcoming Mic’d Up show, and after that, it will likely be available to the public.”
“I wouldn’t have thought they’d release it to everyone before that, because you’ve got the assessors to go through the game, the coaches and the PGMOL themselves.”
